Electron energy-loss spectroscopy of V2O5 nanofibers synthesized by electro-spinning

•V2O5 nanofibers have been synthesized by the electrospinning method.•The energy-loss function of V2O5 nanofibers is determined by low-loss electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS).•Ab initio electronic structure calculations of V2O5 have been carried out by the FLAPW method, and compared with experimental results.

The dielectric properties of V2O5 nanofibers, synthesized by the electrospinning method, are studied by analyzing the low-loss region of the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a transmission electron microscope. A comparison of experimental EELS spectra and ab initio density-functional theory calculations (WIEN2k code) within the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) is presented, having found an excellent agreement between them. Although the experimental EELS has been acquired for the nanoparticles composing the fibers, and numerical calculations were carried out for bulk material, agreement between experimental and calculated results shows that no difference exists between the electronic structure in calculated bulk material and the nanoparticles. Furthermore, our results from EELS confirm that we accomplished the expected crystalline phase. The origins of interband transitions are identified in the electronic band structure by calculating the partial imaginary part of the dielectric function and the partial density of states.